Hopes dim as 4 more bodies found, more than 140 still missing in Florida building collapse
Rescue crews searched on through the shattered ruins of a collapsed Florida condominium building Wednesday, with hopes of finding more survivors fading after nearly a week of probing and digging.
SURFSIDE, Fla. (NewsNation Now) — Rescue crews searched on through the shattered ruins of a collapsed Florida condominium building Wednesday, with hopes of finding more survivors fading after nearly a week of probing and digging.
The bodies of four additional victims have been found in the rubble of a collapsed condo tower, raising the death toll to 16 people, a fire official told victims' families Wednesday. The bodies were found Tuesday night and have not been identified.
Miami-Dade Assistant Fire Chief Raide Jadallah said that in addition to those four bodies, crews also found other human remains.
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Wednesday that 147 people are missing and believed to be trapped in the rubble.
The latest victim was identified Wednesday morning as 92 year-old Hilda Noriega, according to Miami-Dade police.
Authorities said their efforts were still a search-and-rescue operation, but no one has been found alive from the mounds of pulverized concrete, splintered lumber and twisted metal since hours after the collapse on Thursday.
Rescuers are using bucket brigades and heavy machinery as they work atop a precarious mound of pulverized concrete, twisted steel and the remnants of dozens of households. The efforts included firefighters, sniffer dogs and search experts using radar and sonar devices.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Alan Cominsky said earlier this week that search personnel faced a daunting task while working in 12-hour shifts in the heat and humidity, hampered by intermittent showers and thunderstorms.
"That building collapsed almost in a footprint of where that building stood – we're talking about 12 stories, with subterranean garages all within that same footprint," Cominsky said.
"The way I look at it, as an old Navy guy, is that when somebody is missing in the military, you're missing until you're found, and we don't stop the search," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told a news briefing.
"Those first-responders are breaking their back, trying to find anybody they can," he said.
Families, who’ve been gathered for nearly a week, are trying to hold on to the hope that brought them there.
Investigators have not concluded what caused nearly half of the 40-year-old Champlain Towers South condo to crumple as residents slept in the early hours of last Thursday.
“I understand the odds against us, however myself and my family are not ready to give up,” Rachel Spiegel said as she waits for word about her mother, Judy. “We’re not ready. I’m pulling my strength from the love I have from my mom, the love my kids have for my mom, and my poor dad – the best husband in the world.”
But a 2018 engineer's report on the 12-floor, 136-unit complex, prepared ahead of a building safety recertification process, found structural deficiencies that are now the focus of inquiries.
As recently as April, the condo association's president warned residents in a letter that severe concrete damage identified by the engineer around the base of the building had since grown "significantly worse."
President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, planned to pay a visit on Thursday to the scene of the tragedy in the oceanfront town of Surfside, adjacent to Miami Beach, the White House said.
The town of Surfside has a population of just over 5,000. The area is a mix of new and old apartments, houses, condominiums and hotels, with restaurants and stores serving an international combination of residents and tourists. The community provides a stark contrast from bustle and glitz of South Beach with a slower paced neighborhood feel.